Since 1983, UCanDoIt! has offered both in-class and after-school carpentry programs to over 125,000 students ranging from age 3 to 13 at schools, daycares and camps across Ontario.

Our classes are offered in both English and French and are designed to fulfill the Science and Technology components of the Ontario School Curriculum. For each Grade we have a project that fulfils the curriculum guidelines. We discuss the Scientific principles throughout the class and because the children are working hands-on with the concept, they will never forget it. Each student builds their own project and all projects have moving parts. We use mainly reclaimed wood and other materials so we teach the students the value of making “something from nothing”.

You can choose many creative projects from windmills, paddles boats, tower cranes and robotic arms to treasure boxes, mechanical butterflies and motion machines. Our regular classes are 90 minutes long but we also offer 4, 6 , 8 and 10 week lunch and after school programs where the students build larger more complicated projects.

We come to you!
We supply all the materials needed to build the project you have chosen and we come to your classroom so there are no buses to book. We bring our children-friendly, specially designed hexagon tables which incorporate a vice for holding pieces of wood while constructing projects. Working with our age appropriate designs, tools and tables students construct projects while developing an understanding of basic building principles, improving their co-ordination, and boosting confidence.

If you are interested in a presentation where we could show you samples of our work, booking classes with us, or just have a few questions, please contact us.

Born and raised on a farm in Quebec to a family of 11 children, Richard loved filling his spare time using scraps of wood to put together inventions, wooden toys and other creations that entertained his brothers and sisters. At an early age, he learned that one did not have to buy materials to build things, you could find useful products in whatever others had thrown out. When he was nine and being tormented by his neighbours who were throwing snow balls at him, he built a catapult that fired snowballs across the street and till today he still uses the same design in his catapults that he teaches in his classes.

Later in life, in 1983 to be exact, Richard was doing some renovations at a daycare and noticed that the children were not inspired by any of the activities the daycare was providing them. What these children were fascinated by however, was the carpentry work he was doing and they asked him questions constantly about what he was doing. Out of these questions came an idea to show them how to put together small projects that Richard would teach them. For Richard, this was second nature to him as he had been building ever since he was a very young boy. Thus came also the name of the company as he was determined that all children could “do this”.

Taking his love for woodworking, he has turned it into a successful company, UCanDoIt!® that today teaches children all over Ontario how to be creative, independent and showing kids that their natural instinct to build can be put to good use.

Richard lending a hand with our Birdhouse.

About Our Classes

UCanDoIt! offer classes that are very flexible and often tailor-made for the individual event. Since 1983, UCanDoIt! has offered both in-class and after-school carpentry programs to over 130,000 students ranging from age 3 to 13 at schools, daycares and camps across Ontario.

You can choose many creative projects from windmills, paddles boats, tower cranes and robotic arms to treasure boxes, mechanical butterflies and motion machines. Our regular classes are 90 minutes long but we also offer 4, 6 , 8 and 10 week lunch and after school programs where the students build larger more complicated projects.
See our Projects!

The Ontario Science and Technology Curriculum

Our classes and projects are not only fun for students to do; many of them link to a certain aspect of the Science and Technology Curriculum that is taught in all schools in Ontario. Our projects mainly focus on the strand “Understanding Structures and Mechanisms”, but they can be applied to many other strands and grades as well. The advantage of our combined theory and hands-on learning method is that children grasp difficult concepts easier when they’re having fun seeing the theory of the curriculum bloom into a graspable object they can take home with them.
As we are always striving to improve, suggestions, feedback and ideas are always welcome!